Food Sensitivity Substitutes

A very large portion of our health is based on the foods we eat. Everyone's body is different. While one person may be able to tolerate a certain food, the next person may be sensitive to that same food. Often times finding what your food sensitivites are is a step we take here at the clinic.

If you are discouraged after getting a food allergey test done and yours came back with a long list of sensitivites or just a few, but they happen to be the foods you love- Try not to focus so much on what you cannot eat, but the foods you can eat! Here are a few tips for substitutes for the most common food sensitivities to help you along the way.

Dairy:

Milk subsitutions include rice milk, soy milk, hemp milk, almond milk, and coconut milk. Any of these milks can be used anytime you would normally use dairy milk. Also, keep in mind that variety is very important so that your body does not develop another sensitivity. For example, if you have been using almond milk this week, next time you go grocery shopping switch to a different non-dairy milk.

If a recipe calls for buttermilk: pour 1 tbsp of vinegar OR lemon juice to any of the non-dairy milks listed above.

Cheese is often very hard for people to give up, especially children, and many of the non-dairy alternatives out there include soy. If you can tolerate soy, this would be an option for you, however, if you cannot (many children have soy sensitivities) and you don't think you can cut cheese out of your diet completley, some of our patients prefer the Daiya brand. This brand is soy free, dairy free and egg free. So many patients like this because it is safe from many of the sensitivites. Please, be sure to always read the labels of the products you purchase incase there are other ingredients used that your body will not tolerate. Keep in mind that it is still very important to be aware of what your body can and cannot tolerate.

Butter can be substituted with coconut oil. Coconut oil is safe to use in high heat recipes without becoming harmful.

Eggs:

If you have an egg sensitivity, be sure to not eat anything that has eggs in the recipe. If you are cooking/baking and a recipe calls for eggs here are a few alternatives for that.

Flax seed meal: mix 1 tbsp into 3 tbsp of warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes before using in the recipe.

Baking powder, water and oil: mix 1 1/2 tbsp of oil (coconut if a high heat recipe, it melts very easily to get the consistency you need- olive oil is okay if it is a low to medium heat recipe), 1 1/2 tbsp warm water and 1 tsp baking powder and whisk until foamy

Chai seeds: grind chia seeds in a blender until close to a powdery consistency (doesn't have to be a perfect powder) then take the chia seeds and mix with warm water until the consistency resembles that of eggs, about ten minutes. Use in place of eggs.

Get creative! You can still eat delicious and nutritious foods! If you have recipes or suggestions to add, perhaps you've been through having to change your habits and your diet, feel free to share them on our Facebook so we can help each other! Here are a few bonus ideas:

Lettuce or cabbage wraps: When you would normally use bread for a cold sandwhich, wrap your fillings into a large piece of lettuce. When you would normally have a hot sandwhich, roll up the filling of choice in a large cabbage leaf and put it in the oven for a little while- or on the grill!

Cucumber sandwhiches: Get the large European cucumbers (they don't have seeds) and cut the cucumber in half the short way and then the long way. Hollow out the cucumber and dab it with a papertowl to pick up some of the extra water. They fill the hollow part of the cucumber with the filling. Hummus is great to spread thinnly to help hold this all together.

Inplace of bread crumbs that are used to coat a food use almond meal instead. You can make this stick to something with one of the egg allternatives mentioned above.